The Sun. — London, England, 1809-08-04 00:00:00

:•()(7, would you, had you cOmmandeil the Brilish have sent ships in to attack the enemy's on s;,ore ?—A. The moment that the two ships quitted their defensive position, the risk was small, and I would have sent them in. It was between the hours of.one and two ; soon after that time the bombs and brigs were sent in ; the Imperieuse' and Beagle very soon followed, and in about 20 minutes all' the fri g:nes, the Valiant's and Revenge's signals were made. The reason these ships did not join the Imperiense so soon as might be expeEted was, that the wind failed,._; , and the tide was no longer in their favour. a. As Ihe frigates, the bombs, and brigs, went in to attack the enemy soon affei the time that you think w:is proper for the occasion that the Imperiense followed, and about CO - minutes after the Revenge, Valiiint, and other vessels were. sent in upon the' same service, what portion of time was there in y.otir judgment which might be termed a delay in the Commander in Chief ?—A. Certainly there was - nut More -than half an hour, or three luarters -of an hour, from the time the two ships yii!ted the defensive, till ships were sent in by sig nal. This was the only time that can-possibly be called the delay. - Q. Was there, in your-judgment, every Vraflica ble efihrt made to destroy the ships of the enemy got into the entrance of the Charante?—A. I u as-not in the road of Aix, but I am certain that the Commander in Chief sent every vessel in that be conld send to that purpose. [Captains BEIITR AND, BALL, and NEWMAN, Ns'-rr next called, but , their evidence was not mate- • ria.] Cafila' la B ROIIGHTON, of the Illustrious, called and examined. Q. In your services in Basque Roads, had you any oppoitunity of making observations upon the state of = the eneriq's fortifications upon the Isle of Atx ?-r-A. Yes, I lied . ; I was on board the Amelia wren she was . ordeied to dislodge the enemy from tee Boyart Shoal, and being above the enemy, on ' the Isle d'Aix, I observed the fortifications. They , appeared to 'Lein aivery diflerent state from what I had eb,erved them two or three years before, when Was , A lib Sir Richard Keats. I thought they were repairing the works they were throwing up. I • counted on a semi-circular battery, which COM niaiiikcl the road where the enemy lay, between 14 and 20 guns. There was a small battery lower down, tearer the sea. I don't know the exact num ber of guns there—there might be six or nine., 'What 1 had before taken for the block-house, above the semicircular battery, seemed to have no guns whatever. It appeared to be a barrack ; and I thought, from this observation, that the tortifica Cons of the island in that part were not so strong as was supposed, and I reported my opinion to Lord Gambier. Q. Are these the only guns you observed upon' the Isle d'Aix that could beat . upon the anchorage near that Island ?—A. They were all that I observ ed; there might be more. Q. Did you notice any furnaces for heating shot —A. Nu. Q. Du you know that there were any mortar-bat teries there ?—A. Only subsequently, from their throwing shells ; but it was supposed so at the time. Q. Did it appear to you that the enemy was at the time construaing nevv works is front of the old ones, and nearer to the sea I—A. It appeared to me that 'they were repairing and improving the old wotks. Q. Did it appear to you that, the heaps of rub bish v.'hich you saw were the remains of works that had been destroyed, or colleted there for the purpose‘of constructing new works?—A. I think that it was the remains of the old works that had been taken down. Q. Did you see any other cannon on the Island than those you have stated ?—A. The whole Island seemed to be fortified. I spoke only of those that bore uron the Aix road. Q. (by Lord GAMBIER.)—Point out on the chart the pos,eoti of the Amelia, when you were on board of 'her and made those observations ?—A. The bear legs la etc neat ly about S. E. and E; we were just out of gout-Shot un both sides. Cotee you asc. stain , the number of guns or wont,is t ti the S. 4110 S. E. sides of the Buoyart ? lee on the S. E port, except part as fa , as the Setiliciretilir battery went. (ll,y tee Cow t—the first general qt.wsticm.)— A. I think it would hate been more advantageous if t e e heeee-battle ships, frigates., add small vessels ha I gone in at bait-tiood, between eleven and twelve clock.e. Q. Were there two line-of-battle ships remaining at it:a:lie:l—A. Yes: Lid you notice the position of the French 3-decker when she was ashore Yes; I (lid. Q. At what time did the two ships remaining at • anctiot ,rcabove to the entraece of the Charente 1. Seon atter noon.. Q. As the two ships that remained at anchor did r•(•t change their situation till after it was noon, and the Ereech Admiral and the Ocean continued in her position till about the same time, if the British slops bad been ordered in between eleven and twelve o'eleek, which you then thought was the proper titne, would not the ships so sent in lw e been exposed to the fife of the two ships that le trained at anchor, the French Admiral's ship - et (.1 tee batteries of the Isle of Aix at the same titne.—A. Certainly ; but I cenceived they were partly panic-struck, and on the appearance of a force cotnieg in, might have been reduced to cut their 'cables, end try to make their escape up the river., Q. In the event of their proving not to have been so panic-struck, and having defended them selves, aided by the batteries on shore, are you of .pinion that the British ships must have suffered glratic on the occasion ?—A. I think they would have suffered, bat ships might have, in my opinion, Lven placed against the lenteries of Isle d'Aix, so as to take off their fire, and silence them. I mentioned to Sir H. Neale in the moreitig Oiat I thought the, enemy's ships were attackable, speaking of the con tused state in which they appeareci to be at the time. Q. How near can ships of the line approach the bAttries of the Isle of Aix, on that part where you wou!d have recommended an attack Judging by the chart, I should suppose very close, about two cables length. Q. It s, ips bad been so brought up against the batteries iu ,ti:e Isle of Aix, and it shestld have hap pened that they met with such damage from the at t mpt 'o render it necessary to withdraw them, and such a case naturally implies darr age in masts and rigging, where, considering the strength and di re ion of the wind at 'that . time, Gould those ships have returned ?—A. I think as the wind was N.W. they might have found sale anchorage in what is c2llcd in the Frerch chart Le Grand Trousse, where there is 30 or 40 feet water, out of the range of shot and shells in every dirk :lion. Q. Do you think that ships having been subjea" to the fire of batteries 'on shore from the Isle of- Aix, at the distance of two or three cables:lengths, and finding a necessity to retire from these batteries, could possibly be in a condition, with a north wind and lee tide, to fetch the anchorage you have de scribed from the Isle d'Aix, without driving on the Palais shoal ?—A. It would depend upon circum. stances. It would have been slack water about two o'clock, and the wind then moderately fast, they might have been enabled to reach that anchorage in a crippled state ; I speak only, to the convietion in my mind, of the possibility of silencing the batteries. Q. Are we to understand then, that you would haVe recommended the measure of sending shipS in against the batteries in the Isle of Aix, upon a pre sumptien that the batteries Must 'be silenced, with out ads erting to what would befal the shipi hi case they should not be silenced ?—A. I did not give it that. consideration at the time. I only speak my opinion, that. I conceive it was praelicable to acquire that anchorage, although disabled. I heard my Lord Gambier the same morning say, it had been his in tention to have gone against the batteries that I now: speak of with the Caledonia and some other ships, but as the enemy were on shore, lie did not think it necessary to run the risk, when the objeet of their destruCtion seemed to be already attained. Q. Did you on the 12th of April know of the safe anchorage you have now described for line-of battle ships, out of the range of shot and shell ? A. Only by the French chart, and which, from having been long accustomed to use, I imagined ac curate. My coojeaure of this being a proper an chorage for ships, arose from conversations I had with my brother Officers, that . should Lord Gam bier think of attacking the enemy in the situation in which they were, when we first came into Basque Roads, and'ln case of being materially damaged, if the charts were to be believed, there appeared to be water enough in that position. Q. Do you know, that from the anchorage in Aix Road, to the anchorage you have just now de scribed, there is any shoal water between the Boy art and the Palais shoals ?--A. No; I do not know whet her there is or not. I sounded as I came in from the fleet, !Alt I did not find any bar. Q. You have spoken of conversations you had relative to attacking the enemy's ships at their anchorage near the Isle of Aix, by the British squadron. •If you had commanded the British squa dron, the enemy's ships being moored in two close and compaa lines, supported by the batteries of, the Isle of Aix, and without any other knowledge of the soundings in the vicinity of that anchorage then was possessed by the fleet, previous to the attack upon them by the fire-ships, would you have gone in with the squadron to have attacked them in that position ?—A. Most certainly not. 1 only mentioned my knowledge of the anchorage to have arisen on our first arrival, in case there was a possibility of such an event taking place, and which no body be lieved-ever would have taken place, there being no prospea of success attending it. Q. After the two ships which had remained at an chor had gone up the Charante, aod the Ocean and other ships which got off the Palais had o'etained the same situation, do you know if any prafaicable at tempt for destroying them was omitted to be carried into execution ?—A. I was not iti-shore, and there fore cannot pretend to say. The commander in Chief appeared tome to have sent them every assis tance they could possibly require for the enemy's de struetion. Q. How many ships of the line did you think would be sufficient to silence the batteries of the Isle d'Aix ?—Two would be quite sufficient. Q. How many would you have thought necessary to have sent in to the Road of Aix, to attack the ships ?—A. I should think five of the line of the least draught of water. 9. It two had been sent against the batteries, and five against the ships, must it not, according to the common circumstances attending actions, have happened that several of those ships would have been disabled, and many men killed and wounded ?—A. I should think by the batteries there would ; but I conjecture the discomfited French squadron would have made very little resistance. Q. As an attack not proper in itself should never be made on the mere conjecture that the enemy will not resist (it is not =alit that the attack suggested by the witness was improper), what would probably have happened to the ships if the enemy had re sisted ?---A. It was impossible to foresee what might have happened; but from the situation in which the enemy were,.not having recovered their fright of the night before, I think the loss would have been very little, as few of their ships were in a situation to fight their sung. Q. Do you know whether the five or six ships which you proposed to send to attack the enemy's ships would have been exposed to other batteries on the Isle of Aix, besides those of which you purposed to effea the silence ?—A. From the view I had of the Island and its batteries when in-shore, I should think they would not. I speak from subsequent knowledge. Capt. KERR requested to le called by Lord G Am- BIER and re-examined. Q. (By Lord GAMBLER). What, from your ex perience of the died of the batteries on the Isle d'Aix, would have been the fate of the Revenge, and any other 74 gun ships, had they been placed within two or three cables length of those batteries, with a view of engaging them, until they had silenced them I should certainly have expeEted, from the heavy fire they kept up, both in coming in and going out, that ships stationed there must have been completely dismasted, and suffered a severe loss of men. • _ _ Q. What would have been the probable fate bf those disabled ships, with the wind blowing trona the North, as it did on the 12th ?—A. If disrnatect, they must have been lost. Q. (By the COURT.) If ships so sent in to.attack the batteries in the Isle of Aix, did not, troil, the' strength of the enetny's works, and the resolution of those who defended• them, succeed in silencitig the batteries, and found it indispensably necessary to te-. TIIE SUN. •OLtM QUI• PALSUM AUDIAT L 0 ND 0 N, FRIDAY, AUGUST 4, 1809. Our Dover Correspondent states, that a vessel has arrived at Folkstone, which brought intelligence that the Island of Schc.ven, at the,Mouth of the Scheldt, bad been taken by our troops. On Wednesday night, a Telegraphic order was received at Deal from the Admiralty, for all . the ves- sets, with the heavy artillery on board, lying in the Downs, to sail immediately to join the Expedition ; and they all sailed yesterday morning, under con voy of his Majesty's sloop Rinaldo. We are still unable to communicate to our Readers any authentic intelligence respeding the Expedition. No accounts had reached the Admi ralty when this Paper was put to press. • A report was circulated yesterday evening that a Vessel had arrk ed at Guernsey from Gijon, in seven days, the Master of which stated, that Sir ARTHUR WELLESLrAr and General CUES-TA had formed a jundion, that they had retaken Madrid, and that_ they had defeated the French army under•Joscra BUUNAPARTE Mid SOULT, on the borders of Castile, &c. It is hardly necessary to state, that this report is wholly destitute of foundation. 'rite, last Dis patches from Sir A. WELLESLEY were dated the Ist ult. and yesterday letters were rectived from Lisbon, dated the sth tilt. which state that Sir ARTHUR WeLLESLEY'S head-quarters were on the 3d at Castel Branco, but that a part of his army was advancing upon Largo Major. The troops which had been recently disembarked at Lisbon, remained encamped in the vicinity of that city. Since writing the above we have received Spanish and Portuguese Papers, the former to the 14th and the latter to the tyth ult. • The following are the .most important articles they contain : BADAJOZ, JULY 1 1.—The English head-quarters are at Cosca, and their advanced guard at Placenta. Gen. WELLESLEY has promised that by the loth instant, he would be in front of our army, on the right bank of the Tagus. On the sth the English arrived at Placentia, and on the same day the French burnt the town of Calera, and afterwards returned to Talavera de la Reyna. His Excellency General CUESTA has ordered se veral batteries to be placed on various points of the banks of the Tagus. 'On the 7th inst. the English were preparing to pass the Tietar. CORDOVA, JULY 4.—Don PHILIP DE LA CORTE, charged with protc&ing the town of La Mancha, left Captana in order to execute his commission. After various movements, occasioned by those of the enemy, he learnt the small force they had in Ocana and Aranjuez. He marched troin Villatoba, at eight o'clock at night, on the 21st of June, with two companies of grenadiers and cha4seurs of the regi ments of Aliazar de San Juan, 28 cavalry, and •1 t pikemen (whom he armed with poles, which were furnished to • him by the Curates of Miguel E , :twan and Peubla de Fadriiine), in all amounting to 134 infantry, and 39 cavalry, With this force he marched through the environs of Coana and Aran- jeuz, to Soto Mayas, sin-prized the guard, broke the doors open, secured the servants, detached several parties to colic& all the cattle they could meet with, and retreated to Noblejos, without the least loss or accident, having taken, in the whole, 13'27 head of cattle. LISBON, JULY . 17.—Seville Papers have been-re ceived du wn to the 7th inst. which state, that Gene ral VINEGAS made a report to the central Junta, dated the Ist instant, informing the Junta of a :10. rious a&ion which took place in the night between the 28th and Qgth of last month, and in which he routed five French regiments of foot, two of horse, two of chasseurs, and one of Uhlans, with the loss Of 114 slain, and many wounded, according to the report of the deserters. BADAJOZ, JULY 4.—After the van-guard of the army bad passed the Tagus without opposition, the skirmishing parties under the command of Don Jo sEPH VELLALOBAS were pushed forwards to Calero,, where they met with and destroyed a small party of the enemy, of whom not one escaped ; but observ ing the main body of the enemy's cavalry coming upon him, he judged it proper to retire, which he did till he joined his vanguard, without losing a man. The latter remains on the right Bank of the Tagus, the other part of the army occupying its former position on the left. They write from La Mancha, that SEBASTIANL„ on the 15th June, - had retired to Madrigelos, with a small escort of cavalry, and that there had arrived 'at Consuegra several waggons laden with biscuit and some carriages, with 3500 French. Her MAJESTY having signified to Lady ORKNEY her intention of dining at her beautiful Cottage, at Clifden Spring, on Wednesday, every preparation was made by her Ladyship that could add to the convenience of her MAJESTY, or the beauty of the spot, and we certainly never witnessed any thing more enchanting titan he whole of the scene. At one o'clock, her MA J ESTY, the PRINCESSES, and his Royal Highness the Duke of . CAMBRIDGE, arrived at Maidenhead Bridge, attended by the Earl and.Court tess of KAacotniT,..the Countess of I Lal - 1135TER, and Lady GEORGE MURRAY, Where the Royal Bodti, and the Band of the Staffordshire Militia, wets prepared for her MAJEsTy's reception. As soon as her 'MAJESTY appeared on the banks the music struck up " God save the King," which received every effed fro:n that excellent band. The Royal. Party then proceeded up the Rivet', her MAIE4STY:S barge taking the lead, to Clifden Spring, where the Countess of ORKNEY, the Marchioness of THonioNv, and ,Lord and Lady BOSTON were in waiting to re ceive Jeer MAJESTY. . Soon after her MAJESTY'S ar rival, which was about three o'clock, dinner was served on two tables—the one for her MAJESTY and her party in the banquetting-room, the other for the Ladies in Waiting, under a tent, on the other side the Spring. Among the company we noticed the four Misses IRBY; tile two Miss - MURRAY, Count. MUNSTER, Lord KlitxwALL, Colonels DES.- BROW and TAYLOR, the Rev. Mr. MURRAY, and• Captain VYSE. Her MAJESTY never appeared An. better health or spirits, and conversed with the greatest affability and condescension, to all the com pany, till near seven o'clock, v% hen her MAJESTI returned by water to Maidenhead Bridge, accompa nied by all the parties in boats, ho had come to witness the beantitni scene. Yesterday a Cabinet Council was held at Isling ton House, at which were present, his Grace the Duke of PORTLAND, the LORD CHANCELLOR, Earle WESTMORELAND, CAMDEN, LIYERPooL, BATHURsTi , and HARRowBY Lards CA3TLEREAGH, MULGRAv and LEviSoN GOWER Mr. Secretary CANNING, and. the CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER. A letter has been received in ihe City (via Ame rica), dated Canton, the 28 t h Februa►y, which men tions that the homeward bound China fleet was to be dispatched for England on or about the 6th of March. The French cruisers in the Channel appear de termined to give every annoyance they can to the American trade. An American ship is arrived, the Captain Of which informs us, that he was boarded by a French cruiser, but was suffered to proceed, on account of the scarcity of hands on hi,a - rd, the French man hiving put nearly two-thirds of his complement of !ren on board of Americans which he had sent into various ports of France. The remarkable instance of the Artifice - and false hood of BUONAPARTE, which we ) esterddy sub mitted to our Readers, mu,t add contempt to, the abhorence with which the French people view their Usurper and Tyrant. The suppression of any thing injurious to himself in the British Monarch's Speech from the Throne, was to be expected, as the Ty rant studiously keeps his subjects in ignorance; yet sure ly it would have been inure politic to suppress the • Speech altogether. But there was as mw h folly as impudence in assigning sentiments to the Briiish Mo narch which he never uttered, particularly in niaknlg that Monarch compliment an Usurper, and exagge rate his power. The whole of t his pitiful trick shevcs that BUONAPARTE is much better qualititd to follow the profession of his lather, the pet titoging AHnr ney ofAjaccio, than to give dignity •to a throne, however he may be elevated by the caprice of for tune, and the daring guilt of himself and his asso ciates. ' We sincerely hope that an abundance of copies of this deteetion of the Corsican's gross arti fice and falehood,, was sent with onr Expedition, in'• order to be dispersed as widely as possible th ro ugh France and all its dependent states, to rouse tilt ni into a general insurrection against so mean and so odious a Tyrant. We have no words to express what we feel for the brave people of the Tyrolese. They were the first to take up arms, they were the last to lay iiwal dow.n. Amidst every event they preserved their luy alty unbroken, t heir constancy unshaken,- They did not wait for the countenance an:l supp.,rt o. r_•- gular troops—no sooner had the war broken out than they ro , e as one man, and with no 6' her succours than what they derived from their 00 11 gallant feelings, their hatred of their new waii, tens, and their attachment to their old, they cleared their country of the enemy, and returned with enthusiasm to !heir ancient allegiance. It is with deep regret we have to notice the 1 6- lure of a merchant of the first respeCtability in the City: His public charaaer and his private virtues have been long the subject of just and ,general mium. His debts to .arge, but his me ins or' ) very considerable; and we learn wi:h pleasure there is every probability that his - creditors will not -be serially tffeaed. tire from before them, could they in a crippled state, with the wind blowing fresh, at N.N.W. have got to the anchorage latterly taken up by the Imperieuse, Pallas, and Aigle, under such circumstances ? A.. If a vessel so situated had lost her foremast, she certainly could not have got before the wind ; and without having good way, so as to have been per fe6tly under command, she must have drifted to the S. and E. which would have taken her up the Cha 1-ante or upon the Palais. Q. Was the battery on the Isle of Aix low. enough to admit of its being destroyed by the guns of ships ? A. On the south side, not on the south-west side, they might. The PRESIDENT then acquainted Lord Gambier that the Court would call no more evidence, and asked hirri . if 'he wished to call any in consequence of what the Court had bnquired into since his Lord ship's defence. Lord . Gambier expressed his wish to have some little time allowed him, for the consi deration of this permission the Court had granted him ; and the Court accordingly, it being three o'clock, adjourned. till, the next . day at a," as the President intimated it was. not likely the Court could come to their decision at the present sitting. ' • MAILS. • ARR ivzo-1 Waterford. Due—t Lisbon, t Got tenburgh, t Malta, r Waterford. PRICE OF STOCKS 71113 DAY AT TWELVE O'CLOCK Consols 681 1 Red. Ann. 68 11 1 Omnium - 1 pr.